“I started investing in 2014, when I actually had some money,” Ryan Shank explained with a laugh. “I was so used to being negative, but now that I had some money, I wanted to park the money somewhere safe that would also give me a return.”

Like many millennials, Shank did not trust the stock market.

So when he sold a stake in his company, he asked his friends for investing recommendations. A close friend recommended Fundrise, a real estate investing company.

Ryan doesn’t have a background in real estate investing, but the passive investment opportunities that he saw on the Fundrise website enticed him. “I saw investing in Fundrise as a way to get into physical assets using something I’m comfortable with – technology.”

As Ryan investigated Fundrise, he used the company’s cutting-edge technological platform to understand the investment deals that they offered. Ultimately, it was the platform and the people behind it who won Ryan over. He wanted returns on his money and an investment he could trust, and he thinks he has found it in Fundrise.

Still, Ryan wasn’t exactly quick to part with his hard-earned money. “I wanted to be sure that the company was legit. I didn’t want to see Fundrise come up on American Greed or something like that.” The more research he did, the more he liked the platform.

“Their risk assessments seem airtight. Once I learned about REITs [Real Estate Investment Trusts], I looked into some others, but they all had way too risky deals. Fundrise does high-quality deals. If it’s a townhome renovation, you can actually see pictures of the new kitchen. You can see the numbers ahead of time, so you know it’s real.”

As an investor, Ryan wanted guardrails on both sides of the investing equation. He wanted his investments to feel rational. Compared to other investments, Fundrise felt like a logical choice. “Stocks felt too irrational,” he said. “[…] Stocks go up and down without any logic, whereas this platform allows you to spread your risk logically.”

On the other side of the equation, he wanted protection from his own emotions. “I like that my money is a little bit illiquid. This is an investment. I want to lock myself out from my emotions, but I need to do it with someone I trust. I trust Fundrise.” So he went for it.

When Ryan first invested with Fundrise, he put money on specific deals.

A townhome in Washington D.C., some investments in Denver and Seattle. Recently, Fundrise switched from individual projects to their eREIT™ model. eREITs™ are pools of investment properties that generate income. Ryan likes these even more. He has fewer decisions to make, but he still has peace of mind.

As an investor in the eREIT™, Ryan does not have immediate access to his money whenever he wants it. The money is in buildings or renovations or equipment. However, he has so far received a quarterly dividend check that he deposits directly in his bank account.

Though Ryan is starting to diversify with peer-to-peer lending, and even a few individual stocks, he plans to continue investing through Fundrise.

If he could go back in time, he would tell himself, “Do diligence on the company. Become comfortable. Become so comfortable you don’t have to think about it. And put some more money in!”

If you’re interested in investing through Fundrise, skip their investor waiting list of 89,000 people. You’ll get a passive investment run by real estate experts, and your money can start multiplying.

You can invest in Fundrise with just $1,000 – less than many mutual fund or index fund minimums.

Fundrise investors get the benefit of high-quality deals, industry leading transparency, and low fees. Whether you don’t trust the stock market or you just want to diversify without becoming a landlord, consider passive real estate investing through Fundrise.

*This information does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. The information contained herein is not investment advice and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security or that any transaction is suitable for any specific purposes or any specific person and is provided for information purposes only. Each investor should always carefully consider investments in any security and be comfortable with his/her understanding of the investment, including through consultation with investment and tax professionals.